Pregame
Kick Off
Half Time
Goals
Penalty
Substitution
Corners
Offside
Opportunity
Barshot
Comment
Yellow Card
Second Yellow Card
Red card
Missed Penalty
PAOK kick off 2024 in unstoppable form
Razvan Lucescu’s PAOK signalled their intent to start 2024 in the same way they ended 2023. The Double-headed Eagle scored four goals, missed two penalties, hit teh woodwork, and kept a clean sheet en route to defeating OFI 4-0 at Toumba Stadium.
It was OFI who initially started well, having had two shots in the first few minutes, but those efforts were hanfled easily by Kotarski . PAOK were slow to find their rhythm, but from the 15th minute they seemed to change gears and started to threaten.
Murg fired a warning free-kick shot just wide of Bowman’s goal, before Despodov threatened in the 21st minute after a great team effort, with Vouros stopping the ball illegally with his hand which resulted in a penalty. Bowman denied Schwab from the spot, however, keeping it at 0-0.
Samatta then missed a good chance with a header in the 25th minute, before the 39th minute brought the breakthrough. Baba sent over an excellent cross, and Despodov beat everyone in the air to score and make it 1-0 to the hosts.
Two minutes later the roles were reversed. With a great piece of team play, PAOK’s players exchanged a long string of passes before Despodov squared the ball to Baba who made it 2-0.
In the 45th minute Bowman saved a Despodov shot, while a minute later Toral fouled Samatta with a high boot in the face, and match referee Tsetsilas pointed to the penalty spot. However, once again Bowman guessed correctly again and saved Samatta’s spot-kick, keeping the score at 2- 0 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the pace of the match dropped noticeably, but PAOK remained in control, albet without creating many clear-cut chances, while OFI had some efforts on goal that Kotarski dealt with comfortably. The Double-headed Eagle then hit the post through Despodov in the 86th minute after a pass from Baba , but the Bulgarian winger didn’t stop there. In the 89th minute, he served up a ready-made goal to Marcos Antonio, with the Brazilian scoring his first goal in a black and white shirt. Then, in the 92nd minute, he handed out another assist to Brandon Thomas , who scored with a fine effort to make the final result 4-0 to PAOK.
That meant that Razvan Lucescu’s side started 2024 with three valuable points, picking up from where they left off at the end of 2023.
Team lineups:
PAOK (Lucescu): Kotarski, Sastre, Ekong, Michailidis, Baba, Tsingaras (Ozdoev 66′), Schwab (Meite 76′), Despodov, Konstantelias (Taison 66′), Murg (Marcos Antonio 86′), Samatta (Brandon 76).
OFI (Mel): Bowman, Larson, Vouros, Lambropoulos, Abada, Meyado, Toral, Bakics (Mosquera 62′), Riera (Torarinsson 62′), Neira (Diko 74′), Luis Felipe.
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